Former Butler Bulldogs coach Brad Stevens is the new leader of the Boston Celtics. (GETTY IMAGES)

The Boston Celtics dropped an atom bomb on the news wire Wednesday when the 17-time NBA champions hired Butler University coach Brad Stevens to succeed Doc Rivers as head coach.

Apparently the Celtics didn’t learn their lesson. They did the exact same thing 16 years ago when they lured Rick Pitino out of Kentucky.

How did that work out?

About the only thing that Stevens has over Pitino is age. Stevens is only 36, easily the youngest coach in pro basketball. He compiled an impressive 166-49 record in six seasons at Butler. But unlike Pitino, Stevens only got as far as the national championship game, losing to Duke in 2010 and Connecticut in 2011. When Pitino was hired as Celtics coach he was coming off a national championship.

Hiring a guy straight out of college without any NBA experience is a huge gamble for team president Danny Ainge, given the simple fact that successful college coaches don’t succeed in the NBA. Just ask Pitino, John Calipari, Jerry Tarkanian, and P.J. Carlesimo.

ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale thinks Stevens is a bright guy with a high basketball IQ. He thought Stevens was a “college lifer” who would be a fixture in the NCAA for a long time. So when news hit that Stevens was leaving Butler for the NBA, Vitale was floored.

“I am shocked, surprised, and befuddled by the whole thing,” Vitale said.

Vitale doesn’t blame Stevens for making the jump. In fact, he has 22 million reasons why he would ditch Butler for Boston. But Vitale, a former NBA coach with the Detroit Pistons, is well aware of the challenges ahead. If he has any advice for him it would be patience and practice. Vitale says Stevens will have to deal with losing and practicing less.

“If he can be patient because he may lose more games this year than he’s lost in the last six years coaching at Butler,” Vitale said. “The NBA is all about talent. I don’t care how much you coach it comes down to the last four minutes of a game. The LeBrons, the Durants, the Chris Pauls they take over.

“Handling [losing] is a big adjustment that he’s gonna have to go through.”

The Celtics are in complete rebuilding mode, trading Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to Brookly and losing Rivers to the L.A. Clippers. The only star left in Boston is Rajon Rondo, but he too could be shipped to another team.

“People are very impatient in the NBA. It’s all about today. They can say rebuilding all they want but you as a coach standing on that sideline getting pounded day after day it becomes unbelievably frustrating,” Vitale said. “Looking at their personnel, if they were to be lucky, they win 40 games in an 82-game schedule. And I’m being kind.”

Vitale continued: “Bottom line is, how do you handle that? I did not handle that very well. When you look at the track record of college guys they had a difficult time.”

Aside from bracing himself from the misery of losing, Stevens also has to deal with less practice time. NBA players are grown men who make millions, so unless you are Pat Riley or Phil Jackson the threat of a two-hour, high-intensity practice most likely won’t fly.

“I was going two, two and half hours,” Vitale said, “and I remember vividly Hall of Famer Bob Lanier coming in my office and saying, ‘Coach, we cannot handle that intensity and that kind of practice.’ ”

Here’s what Stevens needs to do in his first Celtics practice: be confident, be honest, and be trustworthy. And most importantly be patient.

Hall of Famer Dick Vitale has been the face and voice of ESPN's college basketball coverage for 30 years.

Dick Vitale is the most influential figure in college basketball since John Wooden.

Are you serious! Are you serious!

Yes, I’m serious.  Dickie V is more than just a TV commentator. He is the face and voice of college basketball for 30 years. What Michael Jackson was to MTV, Dick Vitale is to ESPN. Vitale’s enormous popularity extends beyond one sport. He’s a popular culture icon. Heck, he’s probably one of the most influential figures in sports history, and his recent induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame was well deserved.

Oh, Oh!….Oh, oh!

The explosion of the NCAA tournament coincided with Vitale’s rise to prominence on cable television. He’s a one-man marketing machine. Vitale made every game he covered for ESPN the most important game of the season. His passion and love for the sport filtered through the airwaves and the fans absolutely went Cameron Crazy when he showed up.

Freeze it!

It was 1994 and UCLA had just played Arizona in a nationally televised contest. After the game, I headed to the locker room to do gather some postgame quotes. I was working for the Glendale News-Press at the time and I wore my press badge around my neck. Vitale just happened to be walking by with then UCLA coach Jim Harrick. I said “Hello” to both. Harrick saw my press pass and said, “Glendale News-Press! Say ‘Hi’ to my good friend John Goffredo.” At the time, Goffredo was the boys’ basketball coach at Crescenta Valley High School. Vitale gave me a head nod and said, “How about that Shon Tarver, baby!” Though the meeting was brief, I was honored just to get some kind of acknowledgement.

I sent him the article I wrote for the News-Press and in return he mailed me his book, “Holding Court: Reflections on the game I love.” To this day, I consider that book one my prized possessions, not because it’s a good read (sorry, Dick), but because of the words written inside the book. It read: JOEL, THANKS. AWESOME BABY. DICK VITALE.

Dick, you’re awesome baby!